We are delighted to announce the start on site of our latest drive-through project, for Ramoyle Developments Ltd, that will see the construction of two pod units for Burger King and Costa, respectively, at Willerby Business Park in Hull. The scheme will join a growing number of drive-throughs and drive-tos that we have delivered since 2011, with a further 10 currently in design progress or due to start on site.
Explains Josh Rowley, Associate Director: “The market for drive-through food and beverage has increased substantially in the last few years and the number of enquiries that we have received recently is unprecedented. The strong relationships we have forged over the years with all the major operators has given us a deep understanding of their specification and brand requirements and means we can be incredibly efficient in how we deliver their schemes on sometimes challenging sites.”
The drive-through pod units at Willerby Business Park have been designed to respond and relate to the site in which they are located, whilst also reflecting the branding and specification requirement of the tenants. Our design team gave careful consideration to the overall height and siting of the pod units so as not to adversely impact upon the visibility of the other tenants in the business park. The pods will benefit from their positions close to the business park’s entrance and the adjacent roundabout, as they will have good visibility from the nearby traffic routes.
The car park and an area of landscaping in the southern area of the development site will be reconfigured to accommodate the new drive-through units, whilst a retaining wall will be introduced to allow for the difference in levels. At the site entrance the existing raised island will be removed, and a new lay by installed to the west of the access, providing a delivery area for one of the pod units.
“Siting the pods units and their drive-through lanes proved challenging as we needed to retain a certain amount of parking and take into account a number of tree protection orders on the site,” says Josh. “We also had to contend with differing site levels that required both an intelligent design strategy and experience of the requirements of these types of schemes to deliver two accessible drive-through lanes, avoiding the need for cars to journey uphill or restaurant customers having to use long flights of steps or steep ramps from the car park on the other side.”
The design team have also proposed new trees and areas of vegetation to ensure the site retains a vegetation buffer at its border. In doing this, views into the site will be improved, providing greater presence for the existing units as well as the new drive-through pods.
The existing Willerby Business Park is made up of units of a variety of uses, primarily classes D and B. The addition of these new drive-through units for Burger King and Costa, adjacent to a popular leisure centre, will ensure a more diverse range of attractions to the business park and fulfil the client’s aspirations of enhancing the park’s appeal to the public and ensuring its long-term commercial viability.
The scheme is expected to complete in Q3 2021.